Kuwait for GCC ban on expat transgenders

Gulf oil producers are considering proposals to ban the entry of expatriates found to be transgenders and/or cross-dressers, a Kuwaiti health official was reported on Tuesday as saying.

The plan will be discussed at talks by health officials from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Oman on November 11, said Yousuf Mandakar, Director, Public Health Department in Kuwait.

He said Kuwait had presented the proposal, which involves the setting up of medical centres at airports and other outlets in the six-member countries.

“These centres will conduct clinical examination on the expatriates entering the GCC countries.

Those found to be transgenders will be given a certificate stating they are unfit,” he told the Kuwaiti Arabic language daily Al Rai.

He did not give other details but his use of the Arabic words indicated the ban would affect both men and women.

The GCC, which was formed in 1981, groups the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Nearly 20 million expatriates live in the GCC.

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